Editorial: South Australia’s decision to re-open its borders to NSW from Thursday is a victory for clear, evidence-based policy in the sometimes emotional debate about the role state borders should play in controlling COVID-19
South Australia’s decision to re-open its borders to NSW from Thursday is a victory for clear, evidence-based policy in the sometimes emotional debate about the role state borders should play in controlling COVID-19.
There was nothing wrong with closing borders as a temporary measure. It was a sensible precaution for SA to lock the gate given the uncertainty about whether NSW could control the outbreak that started in Victoria. NSW after all closed its own borders against Victoria and Australia has closed its borders to the world.
SA set clear conditions for what it needed to see in NSW before lifting border controls. NSW had to go two weeks without any cases of COVID-19 where the source of transmission is unknown. That condition has now been met.Other states, however, have adopted a much less transparent and evidence-based approach. They have either closed their borders indefinitely or set criteria for reopening which some fear might never be met.
WA closed its borders in April to all comers and has refused to lay out any timetable for re-opening despite a series of legal challenges. Tasmania says its borders will stay closed until December at least.He would like states to switch away from closure of borders to entire states and move to selective bans on specific regions, which are judged by health experts to be high risk.Premier Gladys Berejiklian has suggested she might follow this philosophy in her approach to Victoria.
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